I am a Muslim, yet I sometimes visit Shabbat services in London and
New York. Why? Because there is something deeply instructive about
being among descendants of Abraham while they worship and recall lives
of their ancestors, the ancient prophets of the Old Testament. Muslims
also venerate Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Solomon, Moses, Aaron, and others.
Yet the abiding Arab-Israeli conflict continues to consume the children
of Abraham: Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

Many Muslims in the Middle East would balk at the idea of sharing
mosque space with Jews. I suspect most Jews in Israel or elsewhere would
react with similar discomfort.

A recent development in the Bronx not only challenges extremist,
separatist tendencies among many Muslims and Jews, but it also falsifies
commonly held beliefs about Jews among Muslims. Rarely do I visit a
Muslim-majority country and discuss Jewish communities without somebody
commenting that Jews are universally wealthy and have an inherent hatred
of Muslims. Needless to say, both assertions are flawed, racist, and
historically inaccurate. Likewise, many Jews and others wrongly believe
that Muslims intrinsically hate Jews. Demonstrating that such ideas are
flawed is essential to promoting interfaith understanding and
undermining extremist tendencies.

In this
story, an Orthodox Jewish community lacking funds to pay the rent for
their synagogue prays at a local Muslim center of worship. This
religious unity among Abrahamic cousins in New York is an example for
people in the Middle East of how Muslims and Jews can harbor less
animosity toward each other.

Another example of this religious cooperation, a prelude to greater trust and potential political alliances, is the annual twinning of mosques and synagogues
by the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, the Islamic Society of
North America (ISNA), and the World Jewish Society, among other
organizations in the United States, Latin America, and Asia.

These incidents of hope and harmony rebut the narrative of extremists
and offer a model for Muslims and Jews in the Middle East--the
Palestinian conflict is about land, not religion per se.

This article originally appeared at CFR.org, an Atlantic partner site.

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